Freedom From Bondage

Experiencing Freedom from Bondage

This past weekend we had our first snowfall for 2019. It started out with these teeny tiny little

snowflakes that started falling late Saturday afternoon.

At first, it didn’t see it coming down a little at a time.

My husband and I spent an hour and a half with our shovels clearing the

sidewalks and parking lot around our cars that morning and had to hit it again the next day.

Who would have dreamed such little tiny snowflakes could mount up to being so much snow?

Life has a way on bringing on little situations that start out as not a big deal, but over time, bad habit patterns are formed. Pretty soon we become pressed in under the weight of compulsive behaviors that leaves us feeling unhappy, guilty, and ashamed.

These common compulsions might not seem like much of anything at first, but if we are not mindful, our flesh tends to lure us into more and more of a good thing to something that has become an addiction, obsession, and stronghold if we are not careful. For example, screen time could lead to screen obsession, shopping could lead to becoming a compulsive shopper, food could lead to binge eating, prescription meds could lead to substance abuse, work could lead to workaholism…well you get the picture.

Some of us may have experienced seasons of victory, hoping that these addictions are a thing of the past, but if we let our guard down, these familiar temptations come sneaking back in. It all seems harmless at first.

That is why it important to stay in God’s Word. It is filled with promises that build faith, fuel hope, stir perseverance, and brings about breakthrough so we don’t have to remain prisoners to our habits and addictions. In Deuteronomy 7:22 we are reminded that victory comes “little by little.”

Day by day, moment by moment we can trust that “God is at work within you, helping you want to obey Him, and then helping you do what He wants” (see Philippians 2:13 NLT). We can take “prisoner of every thought, every emotion, and subdue them” into the obedience of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5 VOICE).

This 2019, let’s decide we are going to experience freedom from the bondages of life by choosing to put God first and allowing His Word to renewing our mind and reshape our conversation. Let’s see things from His perspective, because that is where the action is, the breakthrough and the victory. So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from

His perspective.—Colossians 3:1-2 MSG